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D2/3 Semi's


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Show seemed better organized today. They had show lineups, and more souvie trucks were open. Still, they didn't start letting people in the gate until 3:30, for a 4:00 show. Given that we had to leave the stadium for dinner (unless all we wanted was hot dogs), that really cut into the only time we had to shop for souvies. I have to believe that hurt the souvie sales today and I wonder what their problem was. If they really didn't mean to open up until 30 min. before the show, then someone seriously needs to rethink that strategy.

OK, VERY brief reviews - I have a get-together in a few minutes.

Raiders. Basically a Phantom reprise from last year. They did it well, and let the keyboards handle the fast parts of Festive. Enjoyed their show - good volume for their size. Guard seemed a little out of sync at times.

Lehigh Valley Knights. Real problems with the wind - it blew over all three of their blinds. Good show overall, but with a couple of points that seemed to lack transitional drill - some running around to get in position. The final number featured a "conversation" between brass and percussion - it was pretty cool. One of the trumpets (sopranos? I can't tell from the stands) did a cool instrument twirl as part of the visual. Ending visual drill did not match the pace or excitement of the music.

Americanos. Seemed more "on" than last night. Drum line was forceful and brass was more consistent. Some of the drill is a little too spread out for a corps that size - kind of gives the "sprinkle" effect - corps members sprinkled randomly across the field. The 7-curved-rifle line in the third number had problems again - I've never seen that drill work all year, where they try to roll the rifles on the ground. They should have removed that before now. Great percussion features and excellent closing drill.

Marion Glory Cadets. They've really made the picture frames work now, by painting them and refining their use. Guard uni's matched the frames in color. Not sure why 1 CG member sat out most of the show - may have something to do with the decrease in number of frames from 7 earlier this season to 6 now. Consistent play from both percussion and brass. Rifle line performed well today.

Capital Sound. My biggest disappointment of the day is that they will not be playing tomorrow - missed by one place. This is truly one of my favorite shows of the year. The Gumby drill is much more refined now and appears to be a battle for control of the corps - they imitate the DM, then the horns, then they go after the guards with the poles. The drill is much better but is also somewhat distracting from what the rest of the corps is doing. Play was very consistent today. Their ballad, "On the Turning Away" is one of few this year that really conveys an emotion. The "turning away" by the corps at the start of the number is a nice touch. I hope this corps gets on a video this year, b/c I need to have this show.

Yamato. Excellent rifle and saber work throughout. Good formations and clean solos. The third number really produces a sound like a processional for royalty. Great mood. They had better luck with their blinds than LVK did.

Taipei Yuehfu. Good show overall. Visual climax was a color-guard martial arts drill. It's much more recognizable than the Madison version (which is something entirely different). Good volume control throughout the show. Will enjoy seeing them again tomorrow.

Jersey Surf. Show performed well, but not a favorite for me. Lots of visual clutter with the pit on the field and people marching through it. Too many different guard uni's, and corps uni's did not match either. Lots of casual marching and random "walk about" drill. Very entertaining musically, but not a great visual presentation, IMO.

Blue Stars. Good show again today. Sop soloist continues to have problems with parts. Music was a bit choppy in terms of developing a theme, but I guess that's to be expected from a "greatest hits" type show. Good guard work, very consistent, and an excellent ballad.

East Coast Jazz. Liked this show. Very readable forms. A couple of flag problems in the guard. Music is very enjoyable although not familiar to me. I never got the drill with the CG and the big elastic band. Tried to understand it yesterday, gave up, ignored it today.

Patriots. Uni's make a statement - bright red jackets, really liked them. Good formations in this show and good solos. Also good range of volumes - they could blast when they needed to but carried quieter passages well. Guard work consistent.

Revolution. Odds-on favorite to take D3, IMO. Very consistent show, with the exception of a couple of drops in the guard. Very energetic guard program with a high degree of difficulty. Lots of equipment work. Sabers were a consistent highlight of the show. I normally don't watch the guard much, but this one was excellent. Solos were played cleanly - some really nice formations too. A more solid all-around show than Blue Stars, IMO.

Esperanza. Gold-bell instruments. First time I've seen that in a drum corps. Guard uni's complemented the corps very well, providing visual coherence. Lots of "scatter" drill (walking/running to positions randomly) cost a bit of visual cohesion but overall a very enjoyable show with readable formations. Strong opening statement by both brass and percussion.

Spartans. Again, Guard unis complemented the corps well. Really liked this show. Good bari solo in the opener, consistent guard work especially in the rifle line. Percussion feature was excellent but obscured a bit visually by the staging of a couple of the flags. Another perc feature in the end was accompanied by the full battery of guard equipment - very effective.

SCV Cadets. Favorite show of the evening overall. Great formations, good horn visuals during percussion features. Would like to see this corps do more kaleidoscopic-type drill - they could definitely handle it. Melody carried well. I had to quit taking notes in the closer - too many formations to catch them all. Very nice show, I don't get the 2-point spread between SCVC and Mandarins/Cap Reg.

Mandarins. Another example of excellent uniform choice and guard uni's helping the visual by matching corps uni's. Lots of fast drill in this show and consistently good play throughout brass and percussion. This is really a very solid show throughout. No transition into the second number though, surprising for this late in the season.

Cap Reg. Tied with Mandarins tonight. Should be a great battle tomorrow. This show grows on me as I see it more. Lots of "mountain" formations to go with the Climbing Everest theme. A few problems in the rifle line tonight. Opening formation is a "sprinkle" - uses the whole field but I can't discern any pattern. Ballad was excellent. The fourth number built up a lot of tension with a rather cacophonous sound. "New Century Dawn" definitely a winner. Great sop solo, nice brass sextet to start. Play to backfield stands creates an "echo" sound like you might get in the mountains when shouting down into a canyon. Good use of theme.

Magic. Cannot really describe this show - you have to see it. I'm more impressed each time I see them. Lots of kaleidoscopic, fast-moving drill, but at a controlled pace (as opposed to, say, Cavies, who use a frenetic pace to achieve many of their effects). Great brass volume and consistent play throughout. Guard unis did not lend visual support - they kind of faded into the background. Did not stay to hear their score, but who needs to? This show is a winner all around.

OK, I'm late, have to go. I'll try to do another one tomorrow.

Andrew

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Mike, always great to hear from you!! It will surely be one of the signs of the end of the world when we agree on something... :blink:

I liked Surf's music, but the visual I actually found kind of aggravating. Lots of clutter, as I mentioned before, in many areas. Corps uniforms did not match each other - it looked like everyone just pulled whatever blue shirt they had in their closed to wear under the grey vest; some didn't even have a blue shirt that I could tell (but I wasn't using binocs either). Lots of cavorting and "whoop drill" - just doesn't seem very "drum-corpsish" to me. Bass drums had a passage where they were in line but just walking, not even in step and not worried about it - it was evidently designed to be that way. Lots of guard uni changes - and all the unis clashed with the corps. Just a visual mess, IMO.

However, I will say this: It's good to see corps put on shows that have some variety in them. That doesn't mean I'll like every show, but it's better that some corps do things differently. I didn't particularly care for the Lucy show from Impulse, either, although it was performed well - that's just not the sort of thing I like in a drum corps show. I like them to be more serious, more "traditional" (oh, that word!!). Moments of hysteria - like the Cavies' fight club scene - I can handle, but when the whole show is that way, well, it's too much for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
East Coast Jazz. Liked this show. Very readable forms. A couple of flag problems in the guard. Music is very enjoyable although not familiar to me. I never got the drill with the CG and the big elastic band. Tried to understand it yesterday, gave up, ignored it today.

The Elastic was to physically separate the guard from the rest of the corps. To make a tage for them, if you will. Mst of the drill here was winterguard staging, contrary ot the rest of the corps

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  • 3 weeks later...
Capital Sound. My biggest disappointment of the day is that they will not be playing tomorrow - missed by one place. This is truly one of my favorite shows of the year. The Gumby drill is much more refined now and appears to be a battle for control of the corps - they imitate the DM, then the horns, then they go after the guards with the poles. The drill is much better but is also somewhat distracting from what the rest of the corps is doing. Play was very consistent today. Their ballad, "On the Turning Away" is one of few this year that really conveys an emotion. The "turning away" by the corps at the start of the number is a nice touch. I hope this corps gets on a video this year, b/c I need to have this show.

Andrew

I'm trying to figure out how I missed your great review of Cap Sound for nearly an entire month....

Well, I'm glad I saw it today since I miss seeing them so much and I'm in a funk about RA being done.

Thanks for all the nice things you've said about them. They really are a great bunch of kids and with a limited rehearsal schedule, I think they and their extraordinary staff put a fine show together year after year. And the kids want to come back...... I think that speaks volumes for what happens at Capital Sound.

Thanks, Andrew!

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